WASHINGTON -
Less than two weeks after the end of a stellar cross country season that saw the Georgetown women's team capture its first NCAA championship, the GU track & field / cross country program is back in action as they opened the 2011-12 indoor track & field season today by splitting sites between the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md., and the Bucknell Bison Opener in Lewisburg, Pa.

At the Navy Invitational, the highly-touted men's distance program proved their strength and depth yet again. The men's mile swathe Hoyas take three of the top five with Michael Reher (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prep) taking the top spot with a time of 4:13.67 followed by a second-place performance (4:14.14) by Brian Manning (Portland, Ore./Jesuit) and Miles Schoedler (Ocean View, N.J./Ocean View) taking fifth (4:15.52). All three times were BIG EAST qualifiers.

The men's 800-meter run featured Billy Ledder (Washington, D.C./Gonzaga) who finished second overall with a time of 1:52.40 as well as Omar Kaddurah (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) who took sixth place (1:54.74). Both student-athletes have qualified for the BIG EAST Conference Championship in that event.

Bobby Peavey, fresh off a strong cross country season, finished second in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:23.84, enough to qualify him for the league championship.

The men's team also fared well in the sprints as the 400-meter dash saw Toby Ulm (Marlborough, United Kingdom/St. John's School & Community College) finish fourth (48.54) followed by Hansel Akers (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) in fourth place (48.92). In the men's 200-meter dash, Christian Tobias (Saint Louis, Mo./Mary Institute Country Day) and Austin Perron (Philadelphia, Pa./High School of Engineering and Science) both recorded a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 22.52.

Akers, Ledder, Theon O'Connor (Kingston, Jamaica/Campion College) and Ulm all teamed up for the 4x400-meter relay to take the top spot with a time of 3:15.59.

A smaller contingent of men traveled to Lewisburg, Pa., for the Bucknell Bison Opener along with the women's team. Justin Crawford (Gastonia, N.C./Ashbrook) qualified for the finals of the men's 60-meter hurdles and took third overall with a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 8.20. In the field events, Eghosa Aghayere (Henrietta, N.Y./Rush Henrietta Sperry) took third place in the triple jump with a mark of 14.24 meters.

On the women's side, London Finley (Los Angeles, Calif./St. Mary's Academy) was the lone athlete to break 40 seconds in the women's 300-meter dash, timing in at 39.69. The Hoyas continued strong in the sprints as Amanda Kimbers (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) took first place in the 400-meter dash with a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 57.14.

The 500-meter dash saw Deseree King (Oxon Hill, Md./Oxon Hill) take first place with a time of 1:15.65 followed by Chela Green (Nashville, Tenn./Ensworth) in second (1:15.91). Both times qualify for the BIG EAST Championships.

Shanique Dasilva (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Ford) took the top spot in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.46 while All-American Chelsea Cox (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) also took top honors as she placed first in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:53.22 followed by Lauren Borduin (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) in second (2:55.66). All were BIG EAST-qualifying times.

The Hoyas placed two teams in the top three in the 4x400-meter relay with Cox, Natalie Englese (Cranford, N.J./Cranford), Finley and Green finishing second (3:54.51) followed by Bria Murray (Baton Rouge, La./St. Joseph's Academy), Dasilva, King and Autumn Touchstone (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) in third place (3:54.94).

The Hoyas will take the remainder of December off before returning to action on Saturday, January 7 at the Father Diamond Invitational hosted by George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.